Plot Synopsis

I'm sure most of us have at one time or another watched one of David Attenborough's many wildlife documentary series, all produced by the BBC's Natural History Unit. Indeed, they have become so ubiquitous that numerous comedy shows and even commercials have parodied David's conversation style and look/feel of the programmes.

The Trials Of Life (1990) is a 12-episode series that eventually became the concluding set of what is now collectively referred to as "The Life Trilogy" - which started with Life on Earth (1978) and was followed by The Living Planet (1984). As with previous programmes, this documentary series showcases the incredible variety and diversity of plant and animal life on this planet.

The series is subtitled "A Natural History of Behaviour." The episodes chronicles the entire cycle of life from birth, growing up, eating and homemaking, to mating and continuing the line. Each episode focuses on a particular part of the cycle of life.

To try and integrate the episodes together into a more seamless whole on the discs, the opening and closing titles are omitted from all the episodes apart from the first and last on each disc, so that if you want you can watch an entire disc in one sitting (about three hours) or even the whole series (about 6 hours) if you are really keen.

Episode 1 (Arriving) (28:42)

This is about the variety of ways in which new babies of all kinds are born into a world that can be very cruel and full of predators. It features:

land crabs releasing their eggs on the shores of Christmas Island

various sea creatures including sea urchins and giant clams releasing their sex cells into the sea

owl butterflies hatching out of their eggs

various species of wasps and their grisly uses for caterpillars

praying mantis hatching

Trinidad tree frog creating a nursery

South American rain frog

a bird growing within an egg and then hatching

creatures that keep their eggs warm in rotting leaves, including the mallee fowl and saltwater crocodiles from Australia

peripatus and fungus gnat grubs giving birth to live young

an example of a male giving birth - pipefish

examples of mammals giving birth - antelopes, chinchillas, bats

Episode 2 (Growing Up) (27:49)

This is about how various babies grow up to become adults, avoiding being eaten in the process. It features:

elephant seals sucking milk

snow geese protecting their young in the Arctic

lace bug protecting her infants from the larva of a lacewing and a jumping spider

shrew feeding her babies

Mexican three-tailed bats nursing their young in a communal nursery

Florida scrub jay participating in communal rearing of their young, as well as elephants

chimpanzees on the Ivory Coast teaching their young how to use tools to crack nuts

baby albatrosses learning to fly on the Leeward islands

Episode 3 (Finding Food) (32:34)

This is about how various animals and plants find nourishment. It features:

Track Listing

7. Finding The Way
8. Fighting
9. Friends and Rivals
10. Talking to Strangers
11. Courting
12. Continuing the Line

Transfer Quality

Video

This is a full frame transfer spread over two discs (the third disc features an extended "making of" featurette).

The 12 episodes, each lasting just under half an hour, are divided 6 per disc. On each disc, they are grouped into two titles of 3 episodes each. Each episode is further divided into 3 chapters.

Considering the age of the feature, and the fact that it was originally intended for broadcast TV, I was not expecting a great transfer. Still, I was a bit disappointed by the persistent and recurrent pixelization present throughout the entire programme. The pixelization is not really visible on an interlaced display, but quite noticeable on a large screen.

There are various minor analogue video glitches, such as around Title 2 Chapter 7 (67:06), but no major artefacts. There are also some film artefacts including various scratches and marks, and moderate levels of grain. As a result, detail levels are mediocre. Colours are a bit under-saturated.

There are two subtitle tracks: English and Greek. The accuracy of the English subtitles is high - I seldom noticed anything other than a completely faithful transcription of David's narration. Occasionally we get transcriptions of animal sounds.

Both Disc 1 and 2 are single sided dual layered discs (RSDL). The layer changes occur between titles so are not normally observable. Disc 3 is a single layered disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness

Shadow Detail

Colour

Grain/Pixelization

Film-To-Video Artefacts

Film Artefacts

Overall

Audio

There is only one audio track: English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s).

The quality of the audio transfer is about average, consistent with the programme being produced for TV broadcast. Dynamic range has been compressed and extreme low and high frequencies attenuated away.

David's narration is clear and easy to understand throughout, and I did not notice any issues with audio synchronization.

The original music by George Fenton is orchestral and fits the programme well.

Needless to say, there is no surround nor subwoofer activity.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue

Audio Sync

Clicks/Pops/Dropouts

Surround Channel Use

Subwoofer

Overall

Extras

There is only one real extra, but it is a substantial "making of" documentary occupying a disc of its own.

Menu

Full frame and static.

Featurette-Making Of (49:18)

This is also presented in full frame and Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s), and is titled "Once More Into The Termite Mound with David Attenborough". It features David interviewing the various scientists whose research and knowledge have made the documentary possible, as well as techniques for how some of the shots were captured and interviews with the crew. We also get occasional outtakes and bloopers.

Interviews include:

Christophe Boesch (for the scenes where the chimpanzees are hunting the colobus monkeys)

Nigel Franks (army ants in Panama)

Cynthia Moss (elephants in Kenya)

Paul Fisher (waders in Norfolk)

Glen Woolfenden (Florida scrub jay)

Hussein Isack (National Museum, Nairobi, honeyguide)

Craig Packer (lions in the Serengeti)

Rudiger Wehner (cataglyphis ants in the Sahara desert)

Mark Collins (termite mounds)

Paul Atkins (orcas and sea lions)

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view
non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually
also NTSC compatible.

This title does not appear to be currently available in R1.

Summary

The Trials Of Life is another triumph in natural history and wildlife documentaries produced by the BBC and starring Richard Attenborough.